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How to Add a Work Order Process

Overview​

Building a Work Order Process means writing down, once, how a product is made — the stages it goes through, in order, and what each stage needs. Once it's active, every batch of that product can simply follow this route, so you never have to plan the steps again.

The route is also where a product's materials are listed. Work orders and Demand Planning both work out what a batch needs from the input materials on its stages — not from a Bill of Materials. So a product you make needs a route with its inputs filled in.

note

Availability depends on your plan and your role.

Before you start​

  • The finished product you're making should already exist as an item.
  • The raw materials and parts each stage uses should also exist as items.
  • It helps to have your stages clear in your head first — walk the product through your shop floor in order.

Step-by-step guide​

Step 1: Open the Work Order Process form​

From the left sidebar, open Production, then Work Order Process, and click Add to start a new route. A blank form opens.

Step 2: Name the route​

WO Process Name (Required)

Give the route a clear, recognisable name — something you'll spot in a list later, like "Steel bracket — standard line" or "House blend — 1 kg pack". If a product can be made more than one way, the name is how you'll tell the routes apart.

Step 3: Choose the product it makes​

Product (Required)

Pick the product this route produces — the thing you'll have in your hands at the end. This is the item that lands back in your stock when a batch finishes, and it must have inventory tracking turned on.

A route belongs to its product: when someone raises a work order for this product, only routes made for it are offered.

Step 4: Add the stages, in order​

This is the heart of the route. Add each stage in the order it actually happens on your shop floor. For a metal part that might be Cutting → Welding → Painting → Packing; for a food product, Mixing → Cooking → Cooling → Packaging.

For each stage you add, fill in:

Stage type (Required)

Choose what kind of step this is — for example cutting, mixing, assembly, welding, painting, testing, quality inspection, or packaging. This tells everyone at a glance what happens here.

Stage items (Required)

List the items this stage uses and makes, with a Role for each: Input for a material it uses, Output for what it produces, and Byproduct for usable material it recovers (turnings, trim, offcuts). Quantities are per one unit the stage produces — a work order multiplies them by its batch size. Tolerance is how far actual use may drift before it's flagged.

The Input lines are what work orders and Demand Planning plan from. If a stage uses a material, list it here — a route with no inputs plans no materials at all.

Resource or skill needed (Optional)

Say what does the work at this stage — a machine, a tool, or a skill (for example "welding bay", "mixer", or "trained finisher"). This is what scheduling uses later to decide when and where the stage can run.

Step 5: Put the stages in the right order​

Check that your stages read top to bottom the way the work really happens. Remember: the last stage produces the finished product, so it should be the step that completes the item — packing, final assembly, or a final check.

Step 6: Review and save​

Before saving, run down the route once:

  • The name is clear and tells this route apart from any other.
  • The finished item is the right product.
  • Every stage is in the correct order.
  • Each stage's inputs, outputs and resource look right.

Click Activate Work Order Process to make the route available, or Save as Draft to finish it later. Only an active route can be picked on a work order or in Demand Planning. It's now ready to be followed by any Work Order for this product.

What happens next​

  • When you raise a work order for this product, you pick this route (or another active one for the same product).
  • In Demand Planning, a Make line for this product needs a route too — the product's only active route is filled in for you.
  • You can come back and edit the route any time — see View Work Order Processes.

Tips and best practices​

  • Name routes so you can tell them apart. If you make a product two ways, the name is the only thing that distinguishes them at the moment you raise a work order.
  • List every input. Planning only knows about materials that are on the route's stages.
  • Keep stages in real order. The route is a map of your shop floor — if the order is wrong, scheduling and material flow will be too.
  • Reuse, don't rebuild. Once a route exists, every batch follows it. You only build it again if the way you make the product genuinely changes.

Need help? Contact support at support@bizconnekt.com